Designer Select: MaryJane Butters + GIVEAWAY CLOSED

What's that buzz? Bee My Honey by MaryJane Butters for Moda Fabrics just arrived and has been causing quite the buzz around here. This farmgirl-chic collection will stir up some new project ideas and get your head buzzing! Keep reading for a closer look at the collection and a chance to WIN one of MaryJane Butters' Designer Select Bundles!

Q: Tell us a little about the Bee My Honey collection. What were you inspired by?
A: Here’s the buzz: The little guys and girls are disappearing. Vamoose. Puff. Right behind their eight-legged buddies, bees are not all that high on everyone’s list of favorite animals. Puppies, yes. Kittens, sure thing. Owls, absolutely. But bees? The more I’ve learned while working with my bees (and reading the news), I feel the need to help everyone become more fond of the itty-bitty creatures. I mean, they’re working hard for us. If you happen to LIKE fruits and veggies (can’t live off potato chips—although some people try), you should LOVE, not just like, bees.

But you know what they say: You never know what you have until it’s gone. Short of dressing up like Pooh Bear, complete with honey pot atop my head, I didn’t know what to do. So I send people on over to watch the Vanishing of the Bees documentary. There ARE things we can do to entice our bees back, and I was determined to do my part. Plant a bee-friendly garden? Done that. Learn how to be a beekeeper? Check. Design BEE fabric? YES!! Here you go, girlfren. Created with love (and honey).

Q: How did you go about selecting the fabrics for your Bee My Honey Designer Select Bundle?
A: I tried to think like a bee. Bees flitter from color to color and then back home. That seemed to work just fine, given the many different hues of merriment and color and restful shadows found in Bee My Honey.

Q: What design trends are you currently exploring?
A: Burlap is all the rage right now. Once it’s washed and yummy soft, I’m having fun putting it together with delicate, but roughly hewn prints like you see in Bee My Honey.

Q: What projects do you hope to see made with Bee My Honey?
A: Here’s the deal. We care, and we talk, and we hope. And one day, people everywhere will begin to ACT. Beekeeping groups are sprouting up everywhere. I’m using profits from the sales of Bee My Honey to help fund one of them. In the meantime, I have outfitted one of my campers with Bee My Honey curtains and pillows, using the fabric swatches I received early on before the mill printed its first full run.

Q: How do you describe your style and how has it evolved over the years?
A: I’m attracted to two very distinct, couldn’t-be-farther-apart styles. On the one hand, I love frilly, cute, light-hearted, COLORFUL imagery. Kind of like Winnie-the-Pooh meets Farmgirl. On the other hand, I’m drawn to a more modern look that is rugged and full of texture with heartbreaking simplicity and stark imagery that pulls you back in time. Think burlap meets rustic Victorian lace. Bee My Honey is my attempt to combine the two.

*2 Truths and a Lie*
1. Bee My Honey was inspired by one of my queen bees, Matilda.
2. I’m writing a children’s book featuring Matilda.
LIE 3. Matilda has started a dating website, but only organic gardeners are allowed to join.

One of the 3 statements is false. Comment on this post telling me which statement you think is false. Answer correctly and you have a chance to win MaryJane Butters’ Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle!

UPDATE!Our lucky winner is Susan Stanton! Please email Chelsey@Fatquartershop.com to claim your prize! Thank you all for playing and be sure to buzz on over to the Bee My Honey collection!